Buddha-Advani ‘amity’ irks Bengal BJP

The West Bengal unit of the BJP has informed Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani that the ‘‘myth about the Buddhadeb-Advani bonhomie...

The West Bengal unit of the BJP has informed Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani that the ‘‘myth about the Buddhadeb-Advani bonhomie’’ is affecting the ‘‘party’s political prospects’’ in the state.

The state BJP leadership alleged that the CPI(M)-led Left Front has ‘‘created a myth’’ about the ‘‘special bonhomie’’ between the West Bengal Chief Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister and that is being used by vested interests to discredit them (the state leadership) before the party’s Central leadership and the people of West Bengal.

State BJP president Tathagata Roy said today that he has already informed Advani about the ‘‘myth that’s being created by the CPI(M) and how it is being used to discredit the state leadership’’. He added that the Deputy Prime Minister has agreed to look into the matter. ‘‘I have to seek an appointment with Advani to sort out the matter,’’ Roy told The Indian Express.

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‘‘Our fight is against the myth and not against the Central leadership,’’ Roy told reporters here this afternoon.

Explaining how the ‘‘myth’’ was created, Roy said: ‘‘Unlike his predecessor Jyoti Basu, who called us barbarians, Bhattacharya is a perfect gentleman and he is courteous to both the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, who, in turn, are nice to him.’’ The CPI(M) created the ‘‘myth’’ to create problems for the state party unit, he added.

Coming as it does close on the heels of a controversy over the BJP’s decision to allot ministerial berths to the Trinamool Congress which ended in a fiasco, political observers here believe the state BJP’s message to the Central leadership will have added political implications.

It may be recalled that when Bhattacharya was Home minister, he was involved in a major controversy after he refused to attend Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee’s centenary celebrations in Kolkata. The function was presided over by Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee and Bhattacharya’s decision invited criticism from many quarters, including a section of the non-BJP, non-RSS intelligentsia.